Perchance to Bloom
by cmcj
Summary: Amidst her tears, Sasuke learns to dream again. A collection of oneshots, SasuSaku.
1. Dance of the Flower Petals

_With spoilers for the opening episode of Shippuuden/ one of the later chapters in part II of the manga. Drama-ish._

_Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto._

**Dance of the Flower Petals**

"Sakura, ka?"

A blade of cold fire slices through the silence, icy and smooth, each syllable sleek, the pause between the two words poised and perfect.

Her heart freezes for the smallest fraction of a second and she turns slowly, jade eyes wide, a brittle glass as his reflection slowly makes its way on to their surface.

The syllables drop from her lips as they mouth them, softly, slowly, one-by-one like delicate petals falling onto thin, cold ice.

"Sa-su-ke-kun."

And for one heart-wrenching moment the world goes careening off its axis.

Sakura sees him; somehow she knows it is him, morphed and horrifying with fangs in his mouth and deformed wings on his back, his Sharingan wheeling and blood-red as his mouth gapes at her, a smile...? Twisted, a snarl...

She reaches for him. To save him, save him from the monstrosity that he is becoming, that he has become, even though she knows it is nigh impossible. She reaches and she reaches till it hurts, so badly, but still he is fading away, further and further away from her...

_No._

Somewhere flower petals whirl in circles with the wind till they are devoured by the bitter snow.

* * *

_I originally intended to have a couple more pieces along with this to make it seem more complete, though it seems fine as a standalone too. We'll see how my muse treats me and I'll add on stuff accordingly._


	2. And Maybe

_Pre-timeskip drabble. Probably takes place in the same time period as the mission with Idate (episodes 103/104-plus) did. Because I need more of the pre-timeskip Sasuke. :(_

_See the first chapter for disclaimers. _

**And Maybe**

It happened the day when, en route to a mission, Kakashi had asked her and Sasuke to work on their taijutsu and combat skills together while he went off to train one-on-one with Naruto. From the moment their kunai had first clashed, she'd told him solemnly not to hold back, not to let her win - and he hadn't.

She'd asked for the bitter truth, and had quickly discovered that despite her improvement since their trip to the Country of the Wave and the Chuunin examinations, she was still in no way a match for her highly-skilled teammate who was still effortlessly fending off all her attacks hours into their training.

The truth _hurt_.

And so when Sasuke knocked her to the ground for about the seventeenth time that day, the impact hard and painful enough to hit her forehead protector (a little loosened from the past few hours of combat) clean off her head, Sakura found her eroding pride and determination finally crumbling to a dust and, against her own will, gave way to the burning tears as they began streaking down her cheeks.

There was a build-up of pressure; the cork within her threatened to break - and then it did. And all that had been upsetting her since the formation of their team (and perhaps even before that) suddenly came spilling out with her cries.

"I'm sorry... alright? I'm sorry I'm still not strong enough... even after all this time. I'm sorry I keep ending up the weakling you have to protect." She smiled ruefully up at him through her tears. "It must be a terrible burden, musn't it, Sasuke-kun? For you? For all of you? I'm sorry for being such a nuisance. ...And maybe I'm not trying hard enough still, but I'm sorry what I _have_ done isn't making that much of a difference.

"I'm sorry I'm not impressive enough." The sobs now wracked her body. "I'm sorry I have pink hair, and a wide forehead.

"Most of all," she finally choked out. "I'm sorry I'm not good enough. I'm sorry I'm not good enough... for you to love me."

By the time she uttered the last few words her strained voice had dropped and become small; she stared at the now-wet ground before her knees in defeat and tried to quell her weeping.

Slowly, silently, his expression never once changing, Sasuke lowered himself and squatted before her, watching.

"You know, at least it's not your fault you have pink hair."

It seemed so abrupt and out-of-place that Sakura looked up, sniffing in surprise and slight confusion.

It was correct to say that Sasuke still had on the same face as before, though she saw that, this time, his ebony eyes were dancing with the mildest amusement at her.

"But... I can change that... if you want." She said tremulously with another sniff, unceremoniously wiping her nose with the back of her hand and not seeming to care - at least not for that moment. "I _can_ change all that, if you want me to. I'm willing to change... I'm willing to change myself. I'm willing to change anything for you. I don't know how yet, but if you'd give me the chance..." Jade-green eyes still shone with their wetness even though she'd successfully managed to stop crying.

Now Sasuke merely blinked. "...You really love blindly, don't you?" He said quietly after a moment, dark irises staring calmly into hers. Perhaps she really did need him to tell it to her straight. "There is nothing I can give you, Sakura, no matter how hard you try."

A still pause as she soaked in his words, wide and teary-eyed, but then she extended a trembling hand toward his cheek and held it there, smiling weakly.

"But I chose you anyway." She whispered. "Hell, maybe that's even why I love you so much. Not at first, no, but as I realized..."

Gently, Sasuke took her hand from his face, brought it slowly back down, his eyes still fixed calmly on hers.

"I can't love you, Sakura." His voice was soft, but firm. "Know that it is definitely not because of you, or who you are, but... I can't.

"I can't love anyone."

His quiet statement spoke for itself in his cold and solemn expression, and Sakura's heart twisted in sorrow to see it. Still...

"No." She said softly after awhile, then offered him the smallest smile, one of hope. "But maybe you can learn to."

And Sasuke smiled back slowly, sadly. It was a sad smile, and she would fully understand why it was so later, but it was a smile nonetheless.

Then the moment was gone and the next thing she knew he was reaching down to pick up and dust off something before holding it out to her.

"Here."

Its cloth looked just slightly worn, but the metal piece of her forehead protector still sat gleaming in Sasuke's palm.

She took a breath, then retrieved it from him with a silent smile of thanks, and he got up and started walking back to his position as she proceeded to tie it around her head once more.

"Oh, and Sakura."

Momentarily startled, Sakura looked up to see him stop in his tracks and look back over his shoulder with his usual expressionless face. But his tone was one that was purely matter-of-factly.

"Your forehead looks just fine the way it is."

And Sakura secured the knot of her headband and smiled.

_Maybe. Just maybe._

She pushed herself up to face him and readied herself once more, green eyes flashing with a newfound determination. This was one fight she would win. This was one fight she was _going_ to win.

After all, nothing ever was impossible.

* * *

_It's hard to write something that accurately brings forth all the complications their relationship has. It's even harder to figure out how to smooth them out. I can only hope Kishimoto does it in a brilliant way none of us has ever imagined... if he does it at all. Hm. Anyway, it's done (finally). Reviews are love. :D_


	3. I Once was Lost

_See the first chapter for disclaimers._

**I Once Was Lost**

The day Sasuke left was the day Sakura, aching and alone, started waiting.

There was a glimmer of hope that she held on to; sometimes it seemed to slip completely from her grasp and she despaired, but always, always, she never stopped waiting, never stopped trying, never stopped loving him, regardless of how dark the path he had taken seemed, regardless of how impossible it seemed that he would return. 

She would never stop loving him.

Somehow in the long dark ages of a bleak world there broke through one single shimmering shaft of light, warmly illuminating the path which Sasuke finally tread home, battered, broken and empty. 

And Sakura ran out to meet him, as the last few threads of a cold winter stretched out to embrace the spring.

* * *

_Inspired by the Parable of the Lost Son. A little short, I know, but hope you liked._


	4. Runaway

_I think, perhaps, I've read too many of GoldBerry's oneshots. If this sounds far too familiar, forgive me. I also don't know when this might happen or if it may even happen now, so I'll leave it up to you.  
_  
_See the first chapter for disclaimers._

**Runaway**

There was a flow through his aching body, warm and soothing, spreading from his chest and onward.

Chakra... but not his.

Sasuke opened his eyes.

"Why are you here?"

The question was hoarse and bitter, but Sakura kept at her work, her expression set and never once faltering.

"Because I love you. And so I have to be."

His breath came out in half a snort before it turned into a pained cough that brought up a fresh trickle of blood out the corner of his mouth as he looked up at the familiar face that felt so far away.

"Look around you." He said raggedly. "Do you think I deserve this?"

The grievous, ripping slash across his chest was beginning to close up under the glow of her palms. Still Sakura concentrated. His wounds weren't fatal, but severe enough that he was too weak to refuse her treatment, too weak to get up and push her aside. Run away. From her, from them - all over again.

She knew there were other fallen comrades of hers lying around them. ANBU and other medical ninja were scattered around the field, doing the same thing she was.

He was the main cause of all of this.

And yet it was she who had found him first.

"Maybe not." She replied softly, her voice resolute. "But I'm giving it to you anyway."

There was a pause, and time seemed to stand still as the wound on his chest sealed at last.

Sasuke said nothing more and closed his eyes.

When she had done all she could for the moment she sat back and scanned her surroundings to see if there was anyone else who needed her help. He wouldn't be able to get up for awhile more at least.

"Sakura."

The word was soft and short - she might not even have heard it had the slight wind not carried his breath to her ears.

It was something she hadn't heard him say for a very long time.

She turned to look at him, jade eyes holding a muted weariness and sorrow. Sasuke's own flitted slowly back open, the words slipping hoarsely past cracked lips on his empty face.

"Stay... with me."

Perhaps it was just as well that the rest who had fallen had all been tended to by then.

Sakura bent to gather his hand in both of hers and clasped it gently, firmly.

"I'm not going anywhere."

* * *

_A person often meets his destiny on the path he took to avoid it.  
- Jean de la Fontaine  
_


	5. Wither Sakura

_Posted on my LiveJournal as well._

_This was a really ruthless plot bunny (if it can even be called one) that wouldn't stop scampering around until I wrote it and even then it was very frustrating to write because I was never really satisfied with it no matter what I tried._

_Mostly just dramatic imagery scenes that I seem to love putting the two of them through lately. Here we go again with the reaching-for-Sasuke thing. Whoopee. _

_See the first chapter for disclaimers._

* * *

Wither Sakura

Sometimes in his dreams Sasuke sees her through that cold, cold sleet of rain, standing. In the gray and the white and the whirlwind that envelops him she is barely visible, but still he can see her, still he knows it is her.

And always, she is crying, the tears quietly slipping like raindrops down her cheeks as her green eyes, anguished and aching, find his vacant gaze through the storm.

And it is in that maelstrom that Sakura reaches for him, a sound - a scream escaping from her lips, and though Sasuke hears only silence the world trembles and splinters at the magnitude of the heartbreaking despair and desperation in her cry.

A distant spark of a memory echoes - the frightened, desperate look in her eyes as they call him back for the first time in a forest far away; the way his heart somehow seems to stop upon seeing them and how the gaping mouth of darkness before him slowly fades and retreats as he turns back to her.

Something tugs in his chest now, but Sasuke is already in too deep, the gale howling and swirling around him as he looks at her - he does not know what it is.

Though as her tears fall and whirl with the wind and rain he finds himself reaching back, slowly, passively across that vast expanse toward her, not knowing why, fingertips extended as if they may brush hers if he reaches far enough.

But she is too far away, and the blinding storm rages around him till she fades from his vision and he can see her no more, the sorrow of her cry still resounding in the heavy silence.

When Sasuke wakes he remembers nothing except for the faint scent of cherry blossoms dancing and laughing in the breeze.

_Wither Sakura?_ The wind whispers, a sigh; soft and sad.  
_Sakura, Sakura, Sakura..._

* * *

Reviews are loved, as always.


	6. At the End of the Tunnel

_Cross-posted to my LJ. Based on a picture my friend drew for me - which is also on my LJ - simply click my homepage link (: _

_See the first chapter for disclaimers._

* * *

**And at the End of the Tunnel, there was a Light**

Blood, blood - there is blood all over and Sasuke's nose is filled with the heavy scent of it.

It is the scent of defeat, of weakness, of despair... and of a devastating love strong enough to tear two worlds apart as Sakura's tears fall freely on the wounds across his chest.

...Is this the end? His mind echoes faintly. Already he cannot remember how it has come to this, and slowly in his fading vision Sasuke reaches out to hold her as she lies there with him, one hand around her bleeding shoulder as the other trails weakly through locks of pink hair. She is still trying to heal him, still trying to save him in a desperate attempt with her waning amounts of chakra.

Sasuke never understood why she tries so hard for him.

"Sakura." He whispers, and she shivers against him, pressing herself closer as her tears continue to fall.

"I am here."

And Sasuke smiles. "Thank you."

* * *

_Again, reviews are love.  
_


	7. Here on the Long Way Home

_I think it's about time I got more actual romantic SasuSaku interaction in. Spoilers up till recent chapters (403). They messed with by brain. ):_

_See the first chapter for Disclaimers._

* * *

**Here on the Long Way Home**

When Sasuke turns to look at her it is after Naruto has finally collapsed by his hand.

There is blood from his mouth and his chest rises and falls as his breathing slowly steadies, the Mangekyou fading, wheeling sinuously back into his three-pointed Sharingan. And even then Sakura is frozen in his piercing gaze, cold and unreadable as he regards her with a defiant, haughty tilt in his chin.

He regards her, already on her knees from a previous battle in the pandemonium, one hand clutching at an injured side as her own jade eyes are held mercilessly in his, wide with swirling emotion; terror and confusion and disbelief.

"How now, Sakura?" Sasuke smiles, just barely, and it is sick and almost horrifying, his voice smooth like a razor blade of ice.

"Are you going to try and stop me as well?"

In his mind he has already won; Konoha is going to come crashing down - there is only Sakura really left in his way and surely she cannot think to best him - even in the state he is in she is no match for him. Not her. Not Sakura, who has never been and never will be.

It is pathetic, really, he thinks as he watches her trembling eyes fixated on his. All this pointless suffering they go through as they keep trying to save him, so to speak.

Sasuke isn't coming back. As surely as Sakura's gaze continues to quiver in helplessness and uncertainty, he isn't coming back.

But then even Sasuke can't read everything.

In that split second as his breath catches and his eyes widen at the realization he whirls around, his katana slicing through the air as a last minute shield in time only to be splintered by the sheer force of chakra in her fist.

And Sasuke sees only a flash of fiery emerald before he is swept back into the blinding whirl of battle.

Their bodies twist and turn, swooping as agile birds of prey, hand seals flying as chakra, visible in glowing green and blue, cuts and crackles through the murky dust. Unbeknownst to them they share the same breath as they dance, the smell of dried blood mixing with fresh as the sound and fury of the fight pounds and pulsates through them both.

And when at last Sasuke realizes, through the blood that courses through his veins, that she has defeated him before he's even come to know it, it is as she lets out a final cry and rams him to the ground, one hand closed around his throat as the other, fisted, pulled back, and glowing dangerously, prepares to strike.

Sasuke does not know how it has come to this, in this final moment as his heart beats and his limbs scream to move but can't -

But then Sakura stops, her eyes widening and her chest heaving with labored breaths in time with his, and the raging fire he does not recognize slowly dissipates within those green orbs as they stare, paralysed now, down at him.

It is absurd. So very absurd.

Somehow he as underestimated her and she has managed to overcome him, but even after all that, with him pinned under her and at her full mercy, she still cannot bring herself to do what she should rightfully be doing. It is so absurd, and Sasuke would laugh if he only remembers how.

His dark eyes hold hers again, almost questioning, challenging, bitterly daring her to. But in that deep and bottomless gaze there is also a certain weariness, a certain tiredness, and Sakura's anguished whisper fills the thin and heavy air instead.

_"Why?"_

Sasuke's eyes still. And then they shift, so subtly, and that is when Sakura, with a heart-wrenching sob, realizes that _he does not know._

The grip on his neck loosens and she coughs, because he has injured her as well, and when she does there are tears that fall with the blood.

"Oh, Sasuke."

Tremulously her fingers caress his his cheek, and there, shaking as she lies with him, she lowers her forehead to his, her tears spilling on his skin like the rain from a bleeding sky.

And Sasuke finds that suddenly he can move again, the effects of the jutsus she has used on him ebbing slowly away; they were not meant to maim him for long, he realizes.

He realizes, too, how vulnerable she is now, there in his arms as she weeps - one twist of his hand on her neck is all it's going to take to kill her, to do even more damage than he's done to Naruto, to do even more damage than she's done to him, to get her out of his way, for good.

But instead his arms are slowly encircling her, holding her, his fingers stroking her hair and cradling her face as he gently kisses the warm and salty and bitter tears that flow down her cheeks, weakly trying to remember what it was like to truly cry.

"Sakura." Her name is a murmur of his lips against her skin, and when her green eyes slowly open, lucid and alive, everything else seems to fade away and matter no more.

Sasuke kisses her then, and it is soft and deep and so full of hunger and loss, confusion and uncertainty - and a searing pain as he searches desperately to fill that emptiness which he has not been able to fill up till now.

And when at last it is over and Sakura draws back to look at him, his cheeks are wet not just from her tears alone.

Today, in the midst of the chaos and the whole battle he has caused, Sasuke takes his first step back on the tenuous road to home.

Sakura smiles, and the tears that fall this time are tears shed in relief, hope, and pure, everlasting joy as Sasuke finds a way to smile back, stroking the tendrils of hair at the base of her neck.

It hurts, because his wounds have been slashed open and left raw to bleed for so long - but today, Sasuke learns to dream again.

Today, he begins to heal.

-FIN-

* * *

_The idea for this was supposed to be for a sort of doujinshi, since I was actually imagining the whole thing playing out manga style. But my art skills aren't exactly what I'd like to call 'mad skillz' yet, and so I wrote it instead._

_I still like it, but now that I read it, I can't help but feel that it moves a little too fast in word form. Feedback/opinions anyone?_


	8. The Art of Losing

_Cross-posted to my LJ. Written for the June 11 2008 prompt on the 31 Days community: "You want so much, it makes you sorry."_

_See the first chapter for Disclaimers._

* * *

**The Art of Losing**

In the night that they lie together it is cold and dark, and the pale outline of Sasuke's features illuminated by the moonlight is the only thing she can see, the only warmth the gentle heat of his body against her own.

His dark eyes search hers, deep and beautiful and unfathomable, lazily half-lidded by his long lashes, and Sakura fingers the raven tendrils of hair that frame the sides of his face, murmuring softly to him.

"What do you want, Sasuke?"

He closes his eyes and rests his forehead against hers. When he speaks it is a whisper, silent and resolute.

"I want to keep believing."

His eyes open and they are midnight and fire all at once, in that quiet moment as his fingers caress the soft skin on her cheek, his lips moving subtly only with the sound of the words that they form.

"To keep believing and never forget."

And Sakura holds him, strokes his face tenderly and kisses him, and tries to heal him; she does not say _"You will"_ because it is a promise even she is not sure she can keep.

-FIN-

* * *

_This was supposed to be just a conversation between the two of them on one of the nights sometime after Sasuke returns (if he does at all, hm). My sister however got the impression that he was dying - I'm not sure if you did but feel free to interpret it in anyway you want. (: It's a little sadder still compared to the rest, I know, and a little more ambiguous - but I wanted to illustrate that things aren't always easy in this pairing - even if Sasuke should return and such. I'll see if I can give you guys something more light-hearted the next round though x)  
_

_Please review - I love them so, whether they be little comments or advice or anything of the sort. :D_


	9. Returning

_I know I promised to try to give you guys happier stuff the next time around, but a certain line got stuck in my head and more angsty SasuSaku ought to be better than no SasuSaku, so here we are : 3 _

_For the 31 days theme, "Somewhere just left of the point of nowhere". Cross posted to my LiveJournal. Suggestive spoilers up till chapters 400+  
_

* * *

**Returning**

You stand on the top of the hill overlooking the village and you let your gaze drift across it, while the breeze quietly ruffles your cloak and hair and sweeps a whirling bunch of leaves up and past you.

Leaves. Ha.

Konoha - what was your home and is no more, hasn't been for a long time.

It hasn't changed much; you can still see the fine outcrop of the Hokage's sculptures, now with Tsunade's regal features alongside the rest, the Hokage tower, the rows of shophouses, the Ninja Academy - and the long deserted, empty households of the Uchiha clan.

Something bitter stirs inside you but you don't move, yet, still looking - looking at the fields and forest yonder and almost trying to remember some things far away (bells, and snakes in the jungle), looking at the road that leads to the village's large wooden doors and hearing an anguished echo of the girl's voice that called you back, so heartbreakingly desperate and painful, the night that you walked that path for the last time.

It is ironic, now, how the way of carnage and bloodlust that you've carved out from there with flesh and bone has twisted and turned and at last led back to this same path that you left, bid goodbye three, almost four years ago.

But you don't want to think any longer of whether it was worth it or not. This isn't a return - no, now there simply lies another task to be done, blood yet to be avenged, and you will see to it that it is finished.

Team Eagle waits, silent around and behind you, but even as you give them the one-word order to close in with a cold, blank face, you realize that there is a part of you that is wondering.

And that you are wondering, somehow, if somewhere behind those doors and along that long dusty road leading out of the village, Sakura will still be waiting.

-FIN-

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_Reviews, as always, make my day. :D_


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